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Monday, 18 August 2014

You have planned your holiday well; taken the train/plane to
the nearest destination; found a good hotel and booked a car to take you to the
exotic locations nearby. But when you have to pay for the rented car, you get
the shock of your life. The final bill is way over what was advertised or what
you expected. And then it becomes a brain-racking, loathsome exercise as
you try to decipher the extra costs and charges that have been added to the
bill while you continue to argue that those things were never mentioned in the
first place.

Such
incidents typically spoil the holiday mood, but you can actually avoid it and
need not allow car rental to burn a huge hole in your pocket. Just follow these
five tips and things will change for the better.

1. Try to research and book well in advanceIf you
are planning a holiday, you mostly book flights and hotels/resorts well in
advance after proper research. Do the same for car rentals if you don't want to
pay exuberant prices. You
will find plenty of options and information online. What's more, you will also
find numerous consumer forums on the Web where reviews and ratings of various
car rental agencies are posted. Thus, it is best to decide and book in advance.
You should have a good idea about costs and options before going.

2. Try to avoid booking from airports, major city
marketsMany
people book their cars from airports that are nearest to their holiday
destinations. But it usually costs you more as car rentals present there will
charge much more and some useless taxes will be
added as well, depending on city limits. And the same thing happens when you
opt for a car rental operating in the main city areas. They are bound to charge
you more than the suburban car rental agencies. But those operating far away
from established marketplaces like airports, bus stands and big hotels often
face tough competition due to their out-of-city presence and their charges are
usually lower than the city and airport-based agencies. Therefore, first take a
cab to your hotel and settle down. Next, go to those car rental offices located
at the outskirts of the city and hire a car for your entire trip.

3. Get the fuel policy rightSometimes,
car hiring services insist that you have to bring the car back with the tank
full. If you are accompanied by a driver, the charges could be higher than
self-driven rental cars. Some agencies opt for fixed charges for the first few
hundred km covered and then a cost per kilometer travelled. But when the
pricing also depends on the amount of fuel used and the fuel in the tank on
return of the car, it is best to go for a full tank policy where you pay
upfront for the total fuel in the tank at a fixed fuel rate per liter. It
doesn't matter how much fuel you use on the trip. If you use more than one
tank, you only have to pay for the extra at a petrol station.

But
the full tank policy may not be too good if you are not going to use the entire
tank. It means you will have to pay for the fuel you have not used. In such
cases, go for the fixed charge plus the rate per kilometer one if you have a
fairly accurate idea of the distance to be covered. Else, go for the full tank
policy.

4. Beware of the insurance whammyCar
rental companies usually provide a standard insurance for the rented vehicle
that states the standard charges to be paid as insurance. But at the end of the
trip, you may get a punch of extra charges on account of stuff like damage to
parts of the car like tires and windshield, which are not covered under
standard insurance.

In
order to insure against those additional damages to the parts of the car which
are not covered by standard insurance, there is a provision called excess
damage waiver insurance. This will insure you against damages to windshield,
tires, etc. (these often occur if the person driving is not an experienced
driver). But this is where car rental companies charge a huge amount, which can
be double your total insurance cost. So it is important to read the entire
insurance document before making the choice of the policy. Enquire about all
possible terms and conditions before you pay up.

5. Photograph your car before and after the tripQuite often, car rental agencies charge you
extra for minor damages (at the sides or near the bottom are the most likely
places) even though you have not caused them during the trip. However, there is
no evidence to support your claim and you will end up paying the extra amount.
It is, therefore, judicious to take proper photographs of the car before you
start the trip and get them endorsed by the car rental people to determine the
actual state of the car. Also take photographs just before the end of the trip
and it will show that you did not cause those scratches or dents which were
already there. Matching the two sets of photographs will help resolve any issue
that the car company may try to raise in order to charge extra under the
miscellaneous or admin costs.